Baobab Index

Snake venom represents a striking example of evolutionary innovation, in which ancestral physiological gene networks have been co-opted into potent biochemical weapons. Advances in multi-omics, single-cell genomics, and structural bioinformatics have catalyzed a conceptual shift from descriptive toxin cataloging to a systems-level understanding of venom evolution, regulation, and function. This Review integrates genomic, cellular, and structural perspectives to delineate the molecular architecture underpinning venom diversification and target-site co-evolution. Emphasis is placed on regulatory mechanisms driving rapid expression plasticity, including super-enhancer activity, transposable element insertion, spatial heterogeneity within the venom gland, and non-coding RNA-mediated modulation. At the protein level, the review examines how hypervariable toxins engage in structural arms races with prey targets, and how multi-toxin complex formation, functional synergy, and molecular dynamics simulations inform models of lethality and resistance. A comparative framework is provided by contrasting high-potency predatory snake venoms with low-potency defensive venoms of hymenopterans such as bees and wasps, revealing how ecological selective pressures shape toxin potency, composition, and target specificity across taxa. Finally, current translational strategies are evaluated, with a focus on the relative merits of recombinant human monoclonal antibodies versus catalytic-site small-molecule inhibitors as deployable interventions for snakebite. By synthesizing evolutionary genomics, structural biology, comparative toxinology, and synthetic antivenomics, this Review outlines a predictive framework for anticipating venom evolutionary trajectories and for designing broad-spectrum, next-generation therapeutics.

Carbapenem- and colistin-resistant Enterobacterales remain an important challenge in the management of wound infections in resource-limited settings. This study determined the species, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) phenotypes, and genotypes of antimicrobial-resistant Enterobacterales, as well as factors associated with Enterobacterales-positive wounds in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria. Two hundred twenty-one nonrepetitive wound swabs and biopsies obtained from patients were processed to recover bacteria, which were identified using the API 20E system. AMR phenotypes and mechanisms were determined by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method and polymerase chain reactions, respectively. Structured questionnaires were used to collect patients' sociodemographic data and risk-factor data. One hundred seventy-five (79.2%) samples were culture-positive. Enterobacterales accounted for 42.3% of isolates (74 of 175), with MDR-Enterobacterales account for about a quarter of the etiological agents of wound infections, with major implications for surgical site infections, as their extensive resistance profiles threaten the effectiveness of empirical therapy, increase the risk of treatment-refractory postoperative infections, and facilitate rapid hospital spread. The detection of Enterobacterales of critical priority carrying colistin- and carbapenem-resistance genes underscores the need for local genomic surveillance to monitor and control their spread; coordinated health system planning to ensure sustained access to effective antibiotics; strengthening infection prevention and control practices; improving antimicrobial stewardship; and implementing targeted patient-level risk-factor management.

Enhancing total carotenoid content (TCC) and dry matter content (DMC) while simultaneously reducing hydrogen cyanide (HCN) are key objectives in cassava breeding. Although numerous SNP markers have been identified through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) as promising tools for accelerating improvement of quality traits, they have not been widely adopted in marker-assisted selection (MAS) due to limited validation across diverse genetic backgrounds. To address this gap, we validated nine previously reported single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers associated with TCC, DMC, and HCN using 435 genotypes from two independent cassava breeding populations: a HarvestPlus Seedling Nursery (SN) population from IITA and Advanced Yield Trial (AYT) at University of Ibadan (UIC). The markers were evaluated using Kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) genotyping across a subset of 360 genotypes drawn from HarvestPlus SN population, its progenitors, and selected UIC lines. The markers demonstrated high genotyping efficiency, with call rates exceeding 96% and clear allelic discrimination. Trait relationships varied across populations, with TCC and DMC showing a negative correlation in AYT (r = -0.26**) and a positive correlation in SN (r = 0.37***). Marker S1_24155522 showed a strong and significant association with TCC, while S8_25598183 exhibited a moderate effect. For DMC, marker S1_24197219 displayed limited segregation, with the unfavorable allele appearing fixed in the SN population. For HCN, markers S14_6050078 and S16_773999 showed associations with variation in cyanogenic potential. Overall, S1_24155522 emerged as the most promising validated candidate marker for MAS targeting carotenoid biofortification. However, the limited and population-dependent performance of markers associated with DMC and HCN indicates that these traits are governed by more complex genetic architectures and require further validation across diverse breeding populations and environments before routine deployment in marker-assisted selection. These findings provide valuable insights for improving the efficiency of molecular breeding strategies aimed at enhancing nutritional quality and food safety in cassava.

Aging and Alzheimer's disease are complex processes marked by continuous neuronal loss, disrupted neural networks, and cognitive decline. The past decade has seen advances in genomics, proteomics, and single-cell RNA sequencing, enabling the discovery of cellular markers with distinct gene expression patterns. This review aims to compile recent markers of aging and Alzheimer's disease in immune, glial, and neuronal cells, which are increasingly vital for enhancing diagnostic precision and monitoring disease progression. Markers such as Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) and Cluster of differentiation 33 (CD33) facilitate immune responses and function as indicators of neuroinflammation and amyloid-beta clearance; Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and aquaporin-4 serve as indicators of gliosis and impaired interstitial fluid drainage; Postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95), Synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP25), and aberrant tau phosphorylation signify synaptic degradation and cytoskeletal instability characteristic of Alzheimer's pathology. The breakdown of the blood-brain barrier is associated with endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1). The markers were identified using cutting-edge technologies that unveiled variations in gene expression across cell types, brain regions, and disease stages. This cellular heterogeneity improves understanding of Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression and brain aging, clarifies molecular pathways, and may be used for prognostic and diagnostic purposes after thorough validation. Novel cellular markers with altered expression profiles are still being identified through ongoing research, which could be crucial for improving our understanding of and ability to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

WHO's Global Oral Health Action Plan (GOHAP) targets include a 10% relative reduction in the combined prevalence of main oral conditions by 2030. The first GOHAP evaluation was planned for 2023, with subsequent evaluations scheduled for 2026 and 2030. The aim of this systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2023 was to evaluate global and regional progress (2019-23) towards this target and related complementary indicators. Using modelled estimates from epidemiological surveys and registries in 204 countries and territories, we estimated the age-standardised prevalence of untreated caries in deciduous and permanent teeth, severe periodontitis, edentulism, other oral disorders and orofacial clefts, and the age-standardised incidence of lip and oral cavity cancer. Progress towards GOHAP targets was measured by comparing the percentage change from 2019 to 2023 in the above indicators against the stated GOHAP target of a 10% relative reduction. Globally, the age-standardised prevalence of main oral conditions declined (-1·55% [95% uncertainty interval -2·32 to -0·82]) between 2019 and 2023, but global cases increased by 3·07% (2·32 to 3·75), from 3·62 billion (3·35 to 3·95) to 3·73 billion (3·45 to 4·06). Among complementary indicators, reductions in age-standardised prevalence were observed for untreated caries in permanent teeth (-1·99% [-2·49 to -1·40]) whereas the age-standardised incidence of lip and oral cavity cancer increased (8·35% [0·13 to 16·32]), as did the age-standardised prevalence of orofacial clefts (2·25% [0·77 to 3·83]). Progress was heterogeneous across GBD super-regions, with south Asia having the largest reductions in the age-standardised prevalence of main oral conditions (-3·34% [-4·95 to -1·80]) and untreated caries in deciduous teeth (-9·09% [-17·62 to -0·08]). Sub-Saharan Africa showed the largest increase in prevalent cases of main oral conditions (9·51% [8·09-10·94]) and age-standardised incidence of lip and oral cavity cancer (14·86% [1·19-32·45]). The high-income super-region had an increase in the age-standardised prevalence of main oral conditions (1·24% [0·56-1·96]) and untreated caries in deciduous teeth (9·21% [6·60-11·89]). Our modelled estimates of global trends in the prevalence of oral conditions from 2019 to 2023 suggest that early progress is modest and, at the current pace, insufficient to meet the 2030 GOHAP targets. Accelerated, equity-focused prevention and integration of essential oral health-care services within primary care and universal health coverage are needed, alongside strengthened oral cancer control and congenital anomaly care. The Gates Foundation.

Sequencing for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) surveillance was established in Nigeria for the first time, demonstrating a nationally coordinated referral network for multi-disease sequencing services.

AI assisted computed higher tumor infiltrating lymphocyte% (TIL%) scores from hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained whole slide images (WSI) may serve as a useful biomarker for stratifying patients for treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. To test the hypothesis that self-identified African ancestry (AA) vs. European ancestry (EA) was associated with higher TIL% scores, WSI were assembled from three diverse cohorts of formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) colon and rectal adenocarcinoma (COAD-READ) tumor tissues: 1.) 242 AA vs. EA WSI downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-COAD-READ database; 2.) 97 independent US self-identified AA vs. EA WSI assembled from three US medical centers; 3.) 48 (of 51) Nigerian WSI assembled from a single Nigerian medical center. There were 33 self-identified AA WSI suitable for analysis in the TCGA cohort and 49 self-identified AA WSI in the US cohort. For the TCGA cohort, 241 whole transcriptome RNA-sequence data were generated from parallel frozen tumor samples collected alongside the FFPE samples. For the US cohort, 87 RNA-seq enriched by exome capture data were generated from the same FFPE blocks as WSI. No difference in median TIL% scores was detected between the combined TCGA and US AA cohorts and the Nigerian cohort. Exploratory multiple regression analysis of the combined TCGA and US cohorts revealed that AA had a higher TIL% score (Estimated difference = 3.01%, 95% CI (0.54%, 5.49%), P-value = 0.0170), while controlling for MMR/MSI status and other covariates. However, this result needs to be interpreted with caution because of differences between the TCGA and US cohorts with respect to representation of self-identified AA. After adjustment for cohort in the model, the association of AA with a higher TIL% score was no longer significant (Estimated difference = 2.05%, 95% CI(-0.59%, 4.70%), P-value = 0.1277). Moderate correlations were detected in the TCGA and US cohorts analyzed separately between computed TIL% scores and CIBERSORTx estimates of lymphocyte and T-cell abundance. Moderate correlations were also detected between TIL% scores and CXCL10 and CCL5 gene expression values. These preliminary results underscore the need for expanding the representation of minority populations in publicly accessible datasets.

Mashona cattle are an indigenous Sanga cattle breed from Zimbabwe, used for beef production and known for their mothering ability and adaptation to harsh tropical environments. Growth and reproductive traits are key determinants of efficiency in beef production. In this context, the main objectives of this study were to estimate (co)variance components and genetic parameters for growth and reproductive traits in registered Zimbabwean Mashona cattle and evaluate individual estimated breeding value (EBV) accuracies, genetic trends and the expected response to selection for these traits. Records of 15,020 animals born between 1960 and 2025 were analysed for birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), yearling weight (YW), final weight (FW), mature cow weight (MW), pre- and post-weaning average daily gain (ADG) traits, age at first calving (AFC) and inter-calving period (ICP), with records ranging from 865 for pre-weaning ADG traits to 7034 for WW. Growth trait means ranged from 27.07 ± 3.80 kg (BW) to 363.53 ± 50.13 kg (MW), while AFC and ICP averaged 1073.18 ± 152.19 and 496.11 ± 113.04 days, respectively. Direct heritability estimates for growth traits were moderate to high (0.20 ± 0.03 for YW to 0.45 ± 0.03 for WW), with maternal heritability low for BW (0.10 ± 0.03) and moderate for WW (0.20 ± 0.02). Heritability estimates for ADG ranged from low at post-weaning (0.07 ± 0.02) to moderate at pre-weaning (0.33 ± 0.11), whereas reproductive traits were lowly heritable (AFC = 0.04 ± 0.03; ICP = 0.12 ± 0.04). Strong positive genetic correlations were generally observed among most body weight traits (0.66-0.98), whereas genetic correlations involving reproductive traits were generally weak and unfavourable. Direct selection on WW is expected to increase genetic potential for YW, FW, MW and ADG_WW, but reduce ADG_YW and show weak associations with AFC and ICP. Genetic trends were positive for WW, YW and ADG_FW, while maternal genetic trends for WW declined over time (p < 0.001). No significant genetic progress was observed for other traits. Average individual EBV accuracy improved when restricted to only dams or sires with their own or progeny records. Results suggest that early selection on direct WW is expected to effectively improve growth traits but may have unintended adverse effects on reproductive and maternal traits, emphasizing the need for multi-trait selection, potentially with genomic evaluation, larger datasets and balanced selection indices.

The detrimental impact of alcohol consumption on the gut microbiome is well-established. However, less is known about how alcohol exposure during pregnancy affects the maternal gut and vaginal microbiota, or how these microbial changes relate to subsequent infant diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). We therefore investigated associations between self-reported alcohol use during pregnancy, infant FASD diagnosis, and maternal gut and vaginal microbiota. Fecal samples (n = 207) and vaginal swabs (n = 28) from pregnant participants recruited through antenatal clinics in the Western Cape Province of South Africa were profiled by 16S rRNA V1-V2 amplicon sequencing. Maternal alcohol use was assessed using Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) scores, and FASD was diagnosed in infants using revised Institute of Medicine criteria. Microbial diversity, taxonomic profiles and Maternal AUDIT scores were negatively associated with maternal gut microbiota richness, Shannon, and Inverse Simpson diversity ( This is the first human study to investigate the maternal gut and vaginal microbiota in relation to alcohol use during pregnancy and infant FASD outcomes. Our findings suggest that alcohol use is associated with disruption of the maternal gut microbiota, with potential implications for FASD development in exposed infants. Further investigation of alcohol-associated maternal microbial disturbances may inform microbiota-targeted strategies to improve maternal and infant health linked to alcohol use.